INSECT ENEMIES OF THE GRAPE. 205 



ture the succulent parts of the plant and suck its juices, 

 causing it to wither and die. We cannot poison these 

 insects by scattering or spraying mineral or other poison- 

 ous substances over the foliage and stems of the plants, 

 simply because the bugs do not eat either leaves or 

 stems ; but we can kill them by applying thin liquids, 

 gases, or the fumes of various substances direct to their 

 bodies, thereby causing suffocation. Among the most 

 pernicious pests of this order which attack the vine are 

 the aphides, or plant lice, widely known as aphis, which 

 attack and suck the juices of the young leaves and shoots 

 in spring and summer. In the same order we have the 

 thrips, the mealy-bug, cottony-scale, and various other 

 kinds of sap-sucking bugs. 



Among the Hymenoptera, such as bees, wasps, saw- 

 flies and ants, there are comparatively few that are inju- 

 rious to the vines, although the wasps and honey bees 

 often destroy an immense quantity of fruit, and the 

 sweeter and better the grape the more likely they are to 

 be attacked by bees and wasps. 



I am well aware of the fact that to accuse the honey 

 bee of destroying grapes is treading upon dangerous 

 ground, for apiarians insist that the bees are never the 

 first transgressors, but only follow the wasps, who cut the 

 skin of the berries and let in the "busy bee" to enjoy 

 the feast ; but I fail to see why the bees should be held 

 innocent of robbing, simply because some other insect 

 has opened the door to a valuable repository. Neither 

 will this exonerate the owners of bees ; for in neighbor- 

 hoods where a number or many hives are kept, they do 

 sometimes destroy more fruit in a week than the wasps 

 do in the entire season. The claim made, by bee-keepers, 

 that the honey bee cannot puncture or make a hole in 

 the skin of grapes and other fruits with their mouth 

 parts, which are so well developed for gathering the 

 sweets of plants, and which are strong enough to uncap 



